Spouse(s) Agnes Griffith Name Roland Velville | Parents Henry VII of England | |
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Mother unknown to historians(per Beauclerk-Dewar et al., Sir Roland's heraldry reflected known parentage) Place of burial Beaumaris Castle, Beaumaris, United Kingdom Grandparents Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond Great-grandparents Catherine of Valois, Owen Tudor, Margaret Beauchamp of Bletso, John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset Similar People Henry VII of England, Elizabeth of York, Margaret Tudor, Arthur - Prince of Wales, Mary Tudor - Queen of | ||
Sir Roland de Velville (1471/4 - 25 June 1535, also Vielleville, Veleville, or Vieilleville) is alternatively presented as the clear "illegitimate issue" (son) of King Henry VII of England by "a Breton lady whose name is not known", or as a favored member of the court of Henry VII and later recipient of beneficences, brought home to England with 28-year-old Henry after his exile in Brittany, an adolescent "of unknown parentage", and so a possible or likely illegitimate son, with formal historical opinion undecided.
Peter Beauclerk-Dewar and Roger Powell note that while not having official position or office, de Velville was a courtier and "favourite of the king, participating in numerous jousts and accompanying the king out hunting." He saw military service in Brittany in 1489, and likely in France with the King in 1492, was knighted in 1497 after the Battle of Blackheath, and was one of a small group of knights individually rewarded for their efforts by Henry VII.
Beauclerk-Dewar and Powell further state that historical records regularly place de Velville at royal tournaments marking significant royal events (marriages, visits of foreign monarchs) of the Court of Henry VII, in particular his jousts, from 1494-1507; in May 1509 he was appointed to attend Henry VII's funeral as a knight of the Royal Household, and in June to participate in the royal jousts in celebration of the accession of Henry VIII. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed Constable and Captain of Beaumaris Castle, Anglesey (Ynys Môn, in Wales) in 1509, a position he held until his death.
History writer Alison Weir notes "he married a Welshwoman, and had issue" [i.e., a child or children]. His wife Agnes (née Griffith), was widow of Robert Dowdyng and daughter in the powerful Welsh family of William (Gwilym) Griffith Fychan and so brother to Sir William Griffith, a Chamberlain of North Wales; Agnes gave him two daughters, Grace and Jane, the latter who, in marriage to Tudor ap Robert Vychan, gave birth to Katherine Tudor, in Welsh Catrin o Ferain (who is sometimes referred to as "the mother of Wales"). de Velville died on 25 June 1535, cause unknown, and was buried in the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Beaumaris Castle.